Going critical

Do Democrats care as much about protecting the United States from nuclear missiles as they do about protecting House pages from Mark Foley’s digital missives? I hope so, but I don’t think they really care about either very much. Mark Foley’s gone now, but North Korea and Iran remain to threaten the end of the world as we know it.
Among the thoughtful commentary available this morning regarding North Korea’s possible nuclear test is Hugh Hewitt’s here, Daniel Freedman’s here, Josh Trevino’s here and Josh Manchester’s here. It is past time that we start keeping an eye on the Claremont Institute’s Missile Threat site.
Trying to remember how we got here, it’s probably time to look back at Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis by Joel Wit, Daniel Poneman and Robert Galluci. Although I found the book deeply unsatisfying in terms of policy, it usefully reconstructs the relevant history from the inside.
I haven’t looked for the commentary that attributes fault to the Bush administration or characterizes North Korea’s conduct as Karl Rove’s October surprise, but I’m sure it’s out there somewhere. (Thanks to Lorie Byrd and Glenn Reynolds.)